Summer Series: Islamic Finance Panel, Dinner and Networking Reception

June 16, 2026, New York, NY.  As part of its summer programming, PAANY was honored to host an Islamic Finance panel at Linklaters LLP in collaboration with the Muslim Bar Association of New York (MuBANY) and the Palestinian American Bar Association (PABA). The panel featured three titans of Islamic Finance: Dr. Mohamad Sawwaf (CEO of Manzil), Dr. Ehab Elsonbaty (Partner, DLA Piper) and Irshad Rasheed (President, Islamic Banking Division, Stearns Bank and Chairman, Islamic Finance Advisory Board). The panel was moderated by Ramz Aziz, Senior Banking and Credit Associate at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP.

The event commenced with a presentation by Dr. Sawwaf providing attendees with brief overview of the rapidly growing multi-billion dollar Islamic Finance industry. Following the presentation, the panel discussed the basics of various financing structures, providing a comparative analysis of "conventional" finance and Islamic Finance, outlining the scope of Islamic Finance in the United States and highlighting key legal issues attorneys are likely to encounter in many Islamic Finance transactions. 

The session helped foster cross-cultural competency, deepened participants' understanding of navigating complex and different financing structures and provided a knowledge framework to approach Islamic Finance transactions.

The event concluded with a networking reception where members of all three bar associations gathered to connect, break bread and build bridges among our communities.